Country Pop Bites: Kenny Rogers – December 16

Did you know that on this day in Country Music History in 1978 A "train bound for nowhere" reached #1 as Kenny Rogers tops the Billboard country chart with "The Gambler"?

It's true! Check out the performance!

Here are 5 interesting facts about Kenny Rogers.

• His musical influences include Ray Charles, whom he saw in concert when he was 12.
• He sang in a church choir and with glee clubs during school.
• He played in a rockabilly band, the Scholars, during high school; and pursued a solo career after graduation, even appearing on American Bandstand in 1957 in support of the modest hit "That Crazy Feeling."
• He played bass with the Bobby Doyle Trio, a jazz combo, for a time in 1959.
• He joined the New Christy Minstrels in 1966 after auditioning over the telephone.